Is there is any way to write this Rails order query with Ruby symbols instead of strings?

Question

I need to join one table with another prior to ordering records. So far, I've found I can only do the ordering using a string, like so:

customer.joins(:product).order("products.position")

I don't like using hard-coded string values, it feels unsafe. It would be nice if I could use Ruby symbols instead, like below:

customer.joins(:product).order(:products => :position) #doesn't work

How can I do it?

I have a feeling it should be possible, since you can use Ruby symbols when joining a table and doing a where , as demonstrated in the example below:

customer.joins(:product).where(:products => {:manufacturer_id => @manufacturer.id})

Answer 1

No, activerecord was not designed this way. The best reason I can think of is because how would you specify ASC or DESC with that type of naming? You must specify the full statement in a string format for it to work.